i always wanted to go to the united states. may they want to see our natural wonds, whether it's yellowstone, the grand canyon, alaska, hawaii, my home state has lake tahoe, one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in the entire world -- i argue the most beautiful alpine lake if the entire room. there are so many places to see that are manmade in this country: washington, d.c., one of the most incredible cities in the world. we tell people out it and they can come and they learn about our history and our democracy. they mayave better view of the people and of the government of thenited states than they currently have. statistics are very clear. people who visit the united states have a much more favorable view of the united states. there are plenty of or places to see whether it's going to new york city d seeing the culture in new york city or some of the

other cities like chicago, my my hometown of las vegas obviously is a world-class destination obviously with some of the most amazing restaurants that there is on the planet. you can go to the beaches on california and the east coast. some of the most amazing golf destinations, whether it's hilton head, south carolina, or monterey peninsula out in california, really have some amazing places to see. and if we tell people about it, they'll come in grter numbers. the studies are fairly significant on this. you spend money to bring people and they aually will come. and when they come, they'll bring their mey. senator dorgan talked about it. the average visiter who come from overseas, who come from a long ways away not just canada or mexico -- but when they come from a long way away, they spend onverage of $4,500 in the united states. and if we can attract some of those 58 million new

investigators who are traveling worldwide now since the year 2000, we can attract even a small piece of that, it's going to create tens of thousands of jobs in the united states. and who around here doesn' think we need jobs? clarke county is where las vegas is located. e unemployment rate is 14% now. tourism, when you total it all together, is the number-one industry in the united states. well, we ought to do something to promote it. and that's why this legislation i believe is so important. this country's crying out for bipartisanship. we have a place. it's crying out for jobs. we have a place. it's saying, don't add to the deficit. we're not doing that. that's why i think this bill makes so much sense at this time in our country's history. over the next couple of days, we're going to be debating this bill. tonight's just a procedural vote to get on the bill. i belie that all senators

should -- should suppo it. when we get on the bill, we'll have a lot more to say about it, a lot more examples of why this is a good piece of legislation. so, mr. president, i appreciate the work that has been done, will yield the floor @ere in just a second to allow the subcommittee chawoman to speak speak, senator klobuchar. she's done grea work on this bill and we appreciate her support as well. but this is a bipartisan piece of legislation that this country needs right now. it needsnything that's going to create jobs and not add to the deficit. so, mr. president, i yield the floor. reserve the balance of our time. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgani yield ten minutes on our time to senator klobuchar. ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: thank you, mrpresident. ju as the senator from nevada was discussing, all of us were home in the last month, heard a lot about health care -- and i know we'll be having an extensive debate and doing some very important work in this

area -- heard a lot about the economy. well, this bill is about an industry that one out of eight americans is employed in. one out of eight americans. and if there is something we can do, which we know we can do with this bill, to help promote more jobs in this industry without costing taxpayers anyoney, this is the time to do it. i want to first thank senator dorgan, the senator from north kota, for his tireless work for years on this bill. was listening as senator ensign went through all of the wonders of nevada, and we all know there's some great tourism there,ut he failed to mention teddy roosevelt park in north dakota, a place that i have visited myself, and, of course, i hope many people have come to the mall of america in minnesota as well as a lot of our beautiful forests and lakes. every state has something to be proud of when it comes to travel. today we have the opportunity to help this industry with the travel promotion act, and we should not let it go to waste

as mentioned, i'm the cir of the commerce subcommittee that deals with tourism,ut i also come from a state that values common sense, and supporting legislation that will create jobs, generate spending, and reduce the deficit, all at no cost to the taxpayers, is the definition of common sense. just look at the numbers. this bill is expected to bring in 1.6 million new internatial visitors each year. 6 million. and do you know how much they spend, mr. predent? they spend $4,500 onverage when they come here. you can do the math. 1.6 million new visitors times $4,500 every single year in this couny. in fact, some economists expect the bill to generate $4 billion in new spending and $321 mill mn in new tax revenue. it's estimated to create 41,000 new jofnltz the congressional budget office estimates that this bill wil reduce the budget

deficit by $425 million over the next ten years. remember those numbers. $4,500 per person for every new visit, 1.6 million new people every year coming to our cotry, $4 billion in new spending, 40,000 in new jobs, cost to the taxpayer, zero. during these tough economic times, how could we not pass this bill, how coulde not pass it right n when we know it would do so much good? this past summer i visited, along with my family, many areas in our state ande did tourism hearings and various events around this bill in northern minnesota. i'll be honest, at first i thought, well, they want tourism, it's a big industry in our state, but do they really care about this bill? and that's when i found out that they dreel care about this bill so -- they really do care about this bill becauseo many visitors traditionally have come down from canada. and so many barriers of getting the visas processed, the barriers at the border, have affected touri in northern

miesota in places like grand maret, international falls, and the braynard lakes area, home of the statue of paul ban yo buniod be, the blue ox. minnesotshares this border with canada and i was very mh surprised in how much interest there was in getting this bill passed. they understand we want to promote our country internationally, just like other countries which senator dorgan and senator ensign have pointed out, have done for soong. but they also want to make it easier to process these visas. as you know, mr. president, this problem started way before the economy started having troubles. it occurd after 9/11, where for very good reasons, there were some tighter visa requirements put in place. is problem, is we've gotten so behind that a lot of people who are living in, say, france, they have to think, well, am i going to america where maybe it's going to take months to process my visa, or maybe i'll just go over to england oraybe a'll just go to japan. and so we need to speed up the process. we know thatourism creates good jobs that can't be

outsourced. it increes sales for loc businesses and it brings in tax revenue for local and state economies. one of my favorite exampless luth. it's not las vegas but listen to this start. duluth is a port city that was hit hard by recessed the 1970's and the early 1980's. my dad is from northern minnesota. we go up there a lot and i could see how much that community was hurting during that time. and at one point it was so bad that they put a bill board, a famous billboard o thedge of tanned thatown that said, "willt one o, please turn out the lights." well, the lights are still on in deexpleut there's as bright as ever, and a lot has to d with tourism. the citie has transformeddivityn the beautiful lake superior welcoming 4 million visitors each year with a annual economic impact of over $700 millionment now, 00 million.now, we know thm

industry is feeling t effects of the ecomic downturn. on top of that, as i mentioned, the u.s. has seen its decline i the tourism industry in the past decade. as we see here, the u.s. share of the world travel market has decreased bnearly 20%, costing us hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue. when a traveler decides to go somewhere else besides the united states, the's a ripally effect toughout our economy. un,ou think -- a ripple affecthroughout our economy. yo kno you think about the hotels and airlines. but do you know who else you should think about? you should think about the person who's working making beds in the hotel o the waitress who's working in a restaurant where people would stop by on their drive up, or you think about the florist who's getting those flowers ready for the business conference. those are all jobs. those are all jobs in this economy. last year, nearly 20 ,000 travel-related jobs were los and the commerce department predicts that we'll lose another 247,000 jobs this year.

well, we can do something about this. we can brinf in more travelers. we can create more jobs, and we can boost our economy. that's hy we need to pass the travel promotion act. first, this bill will create a public-private partnership to promote the united states as an international travel destination and finally establish a coordinated national tourism program. senator dorgan had some amazine blowups of some of the work that you've seen in other cntries. indonesia has their own tourism program. bahamas enticing people to go there. scotland, taiwan, south africa, australia with their kangaroo. what do we have right? nothing. cities are going out there, places like new york, places like las vegas. well, it's not as easy for some small places in minnesota or north dakota or vermont or new hampshire to do that, but this is a chance where we can

actually promote our country internationally. and we are in major competition for international travelers but we are not competing.in 2005, greece spent more than $150 million on travel promotion. france spent $63 mlion. that's what we're up against. it's time for the u.s. to catch up to the rest of the world. it's time for us to play on an even playing field. seco, the bill will establish the office of travel promotion in the department of commerce to work with the corporation for travel promotion and t secretaries of state and homeland security to make sure that international visitors are processed efficiently. it is time to cut through the red tape so we can get the people in are going to these countries to come to our count country. we have always been a country that has opened our armso peopleho want to come and visit. we've been proud of that becse we know that it doesn't only have an economic benefit, it also has a diplomatic benefit. people who visit thenited

states are 74% more likely to have a favorable opinion of our country than those who have not visited. as we enter a new era in our interpret relations, travel can play an important role in building bridges between americans and people from across the globe. finally, as i mentioned earlier, this legislation will not cost taxpayers a dime i think senator dorgan, it is a very good w to begin this session, to begin it by looking at something that is paid for by a combination of private-sector coributions and a small fee on international travelers, non-u.s. taxpayers who are entering the united states. this is commonsense leglation. and you thinkbout the positive ripple effect that will happen asore intnational visitors visit our country. it will increas sales for businesses ranging from airlines to hots to those the flower shops.

it will increase revens in our local economy and it will increase jobs. the u.s. is home to some of the world's wonders, and the travel promotion act will give us the tools we need toromote the united states as a premier travel destination. as chair of the commerce subcommittee that include tourism, i've seen how important tourism is to communities, both small and large, across our country. we have the opportunity to boost travel and boost our economy, and we just can't let that go to waste. i'm glad that we are debating this bill today. i'm looking forward to this vote and the days that we have here to focus on this. but i urge my colleagues to support this. they've been home. they know that people are crying out for jobs. they know tt th is something at no cost to the taxpayer, bipartisan support which will help t get thrust. to -- help to get ushere. let's get this done. thank you very much,

mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. dorgan: mr. president? e presiding offir: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: mr. preside, how much time remains? the presiding officer: 8 minutes, 15 seconds. mr. dorgan: mr. president, first of all, let mehank senator klobuchar for her work and senator ensign. i think they've said what nee to be said. if 48 million more people are now traveling internationally, foreign travelers moving around the world, 48 million more but 600,000 fewer are traveling in the united states as foreign travelers, then something is wrong. and we need to fix it. i want to market this country to foreign trooferlsay, come to all of america. yes, come to the -- see the statue of liberty and come to see new york cit and its vibrancy and the empire state ilding andas vegas and universal studios in los angeles and the golden gat bridge and, in my state, the peminau gorge, the red river valley and the badlands.

i mean, i would love to have foreign tourism come to experience the hisry and the lture and the values of all of our cotry. i've told the story before on the floor of the senate about theodore rooselt. theodore roosevelt was in his home in new york, when on the same day on different floors of his home, his mother diednd his wife died. in his had his diary for that day, there was a big mark. there is a just an "x" thor day, lost both his wife and his mother the same day, different floors of this house. a broken spirit. he went to what is now north dakota, what was then north dakota, and began to ranch in th badlands of north dakota, what is now the theater roosevelt national park. i would love to encourage foreign tieforts to come to the heartland of america, the northern great plains, and see what restored the spirit of theodore roosevelt. what a great way to understand

and see the history and the culture and the values of this country. but isn't it interesting -- and alarming, i might say -- that 48 million more people are traveling around the worlds foreign tourists and 600,000 fewer are traveling in the united states of aca? the united states of ameca, which shod in my judgment be "the"remier dtination for travel of ywhere on this earth. and yete're losing -- we have 633,000 fewer foreign travelers than we had nine years ago. and there's something not connected here. so we proposed to connect it with something that is bipartisan, something that doesn't cost money but something that in fact reduces the federal budget deficit, something that creates jobs when we've lost so many jo@s, and so to be able to do that, working together, to say here's something we can agree on, here's something that we think would boost america's economic strength, here's

something we believe would contribute to building new jobs in our country,nd, most portantly for me, here's something that when people come to our country and leave will allow them to leave america with a very positive impression abo who this country is, who the american people are, what they believe, what they practice. i mean, this is a remarkable place. and to come here and then leave here and having visited america is to experience, in my judgnt, one ofhe great travel opportunities on this planet. and so when you look at a problem and see that something is not working right, the question is how do you philadelphia it? i've said so often before, but i want to say it again, because we've had some opposition that i think mischaracterizes it, but mark twain when aed if he would engage in a debate that was being scheduled, oh, of

course as long as i can take the negative side. but we haven't told at you the subject i oh, it doesn't matter. the nextgefe side will take no preparation at awvment so it is with legislation. it is so much easier with no preparation to come and say, i'm opposed it this. i don't support this. this won work. you know, but the fact is those who are creating, trying to find ways to solve problems and in this case finding a way to solve a problem that i think hurts this country, that is losing our share of international tourism at a time when more people are traveling around th wor, finding fewer people traveling to our country, that's a prolem. and we can fix that in a way that doesn't spend more, doesn't increase the federal budget deficit, but attracts more people to this country, creates more jobs. what a remarkable piece of legislation that i think is a good investment in the future of th country. we've a lot toe proud before this country, all of us, and we take it for grntsed every did i -- for grantedvery day because

we wake up in this country. but we want to show it off to foreign visitorsnd since there's bn a notion that -- and since 9/11 there's been a notion that it's harder to come to america. it's not a hassle. we invite you to come here, come here and be a part of our experience. here's what we see in "the sydney morning herald," "coming to america isn't easy." in "the guardian," "america, more hassle than it's worth?" "the sunday times," "travel to america? no tifntle" these are all 2008 headlines. we want to say, this country has a welcome mat out for you. come here rs eerience what we have for you in america. wenvite you to be par of our experience. we want you to come to the united states of america when you're traveling internationally. that's what this legistion is about. this is not economy indicated. it is the right thing to do. it is the reason there are so many democrats and republicans who have joined together in something we think will

strengthen this country. mr. president, iield the floor and reserve the balance of my time. mr. ensign: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. ensign: mr. president, just a couple other point before the vote that i want to make. some folks have questioned why we need the travel promotion act. they say that, you know, tourism will take care of itself and that this is not a role for the federal government. onof the reasons i remember for years why i wanted to go to australiaas because australia advertised in the united states, talking about the various places, whether it was the great barrier reef and the ce about a dive, some of the bet in the world, or showing sydney and some of the sights o sydney

australia or car yaws other -- the gorgeous beaches they have in australia. but the united states and our resources here are so vast for people to come and see, to not tell folks of the world what we have here and -- or to remind them of what we have, i think, is a disservice to our country because if we remind them, if we showed them the pictures, and whether in brochures or in internet advertising or in television advertising, whatever the advertising media that we choose, we wl attract people here. there's no question that a lot of folks around the world would loveo visit the united states. it may just take a little prodding, a little spark to get them to realize that, you know, that is someplace i wanted to go. i thought about that. hey, honey, let's take the kids. let's go to ameca.

let's see some of the incdible sights. we have harderbout the grand canyon. we've heard about some of the national parks that are there. we've always wanted to see washington, d.c., and see the capitol, that beacon of democracy throughout the world. let's remind folks of the types of things we have here in new york city, and when people come here, not only will they bring their money and create jobs, but i believe, very importantly, people will come away from america with a different attitude about our country. they'll come away with talking abou an america that is -- it's different than maybe they get told about in their news media. if you are in europe and oth places in the world, their news media isn't necessarily kind to the united states. but when people come here and they meet americans, and they see ourlaces that we have and they lerner soie of the history of our country, they come away with a different attitude. and that's important today when america needs friends in the world.

so, mr. president, i believe this legislation is important, not onlfor the jobs that it will create but for america's age in the world, and this legislation really is needed at this point. one of the problems in the past, back in 1996 w we w welted a prm that was about -- we eliminate add program that was about travel in the united states. we've had private programs and public programs and neither one of them worked very well, just on their own. privately because they couldn't get the funding necessary. on the plic side, it was because the government doesn't run those things very well. this is a public-private partnership that i believe can work, and that's the reason that i'mupporting this. it is the reason that i think public-private partnership, some of the public funding matched with the private funding, along with the private's expertise, can bring more tourists to the united states.

senator klobuchar mentioned that 1.6 to 1.8 million n visitors will come to the united ates beuse of this legislation. that creates a lot of jobs. that brings a lot of revenue. that also creates a lot more people that have vfted her who will -- that have visited here who will go back andalk positively aut the united states because the vast majority of our people -- i believe in the country, i believe in the good informs our country. when they are exposed to that i believe they will go home and talk about the goodness of not only our country but the goodness of theeople here in the united states. so, mr. president, this -- mr. dorga will the senator yield for a questio mr. ensign: i would be happy to yield. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i should also mention tha senator reid along wit senator ensign has played a significant role on working on ts legislation. that's important to mention. obviously both come from a state that relies a great deal on tourism. i don't. my state -- tourism is second in

our state. it's -- it plays vea large role in every state but we don'tave the mecca of tourism as perhaps las vegas, for example. on the other hand, the senator early on talked about how companies advertise because advertising works. and it is the case, it seems to me, that companies advertise on behalf of their company. and i just described circumstances of showing you that there are very aggressive efforts out there for countries to advertise on behalf of their countries. saying come to i thinkly, experience what italy has to offer. come to france, come to i understand yavment and so the -- come to france, come to india. and so the countries are very agresssive. if you're thinking about traveling around the planet, think about this. co to see the eiffel tower. we are aust not involved in trying to reach out to people to say, you know what? you're welco in this country. you've got so much to offer, so much to see. we want you to come here to experience it and understand it.

it is the case it seems to me that when the senator from nevada said, companies advertise. this creates a public-private partnership in which our country will advertise to the world to say, come to america. i mean, isn't that the case with respect to advertising of companies versus countries? mr. ensign: i would say to my friend from north dakota, it is absolutely the case. it h been proven timed and time again. as a matter of ft, these countries, i don't believe, would continue to spend e money if it wasn't working. that's certai -- certainly comps wouldn't continue to spend the money if their advertising dollars weren't working to bring more people, for instance, to vyinlas vegas. most americans have heard the advertising -- the slogans, "what happens in vague as stays iin vegas." it is the sights and sounds.

everything that attracts people to come. if a country advertises like the united state-- if we advertise, we have the dwrsty of types of things that we can -- the diversity of types of things that we can do bring people here. if ty come to the grand canyon, st people will also goes to california or las vegas or go to new york city or someplace else. so when we -- when folks come om overseas, they usually don't just come to one place. they come to several places. so we can -- it's almost like the disney effect. the magic castle -- okay? the magic castl draws people in, but as they drew people in through main street, guess what? main street benefited. if we draw people in using some of the iconic places that we have in the united states, other places around the country will benefit. and that's why a national advertising campaign, i believe, is very important for this country. mr. dorgan: mr. president, if the senator would yield further,

the fact is we're losing -- we've lost a lot of jobs in the deepest depressio recession sine great depression. all of us are striving to put people back to work. there's not going to be some big b@ng theory. we can do this incrementally and we should. we need manufacturing and tourism. tourism is a significant job creator. it is not some big hotel in most cases. it is a small business someplace that's struggling to make a living, running a hotel at some atrafntle so it is a lot of small businesses, rental cars and so on. that's w we have such faith that if weo what we say we can do in this legislation, we'll put a lot of people back twork. -- back to work. ms. klobuchar: if the senator would yield for one more question? enen yes, i yield. ms. klobuchar: as senator dorgan was just discussing, it seems to me that people don't always think about the ripple

effect of these. nevada has suffered because of some of the economic downturn here with tourism. could yo talk about what you've seen in terms of other businesses that have lost business when we don't promote tourism like we're supposed to? because i think that's something that people don't always think about. they think about the big aicialtion the big hotels but th don't think about the ripple effect on some of the other jobs that matter in this country. mr. ensign: tourism, being such -i thin thank the senator r her question. tourism being such a huge part of our economy tay, if the person who's wking in the tourism industry -- for instance, somebody cleaning the hotel rooms -- if they don't ve that job, they don't have that money to be able to go down to a fast-food restaurant or go to a sto to buy clothes or whatever it is. they have to tighten their belts and even if have the job, if things have been cut back -- in the tourism industry, a lot of

people work for tips. and as those tips have gone down, tha ripple efft has happened through the economy literally across america today. my state hats felt it probably more than any other state. my state has ft it probably morehan other state. it affects restaurants. i'm a verarian. it affects the veterary business. it affects dentists. it affects throughout the entire economy. it affects the construction industry. it's almost like a negative ripple effect when those jobs are being lost in the tourist industry. what we're trying to have is a positive ripple effect, wre we create tourist jobs and then start creating other jobs in other sectors. i think it's a great question on theippleffect with the tourist industry. mr. dorgan: let me mention again the u.s. chamber of commerce sent a letter in strong support of this precisely because of the job-creating nature of this legislation. mr. ensign: mr. president, i yield the floor, and i guess all

time has expired. the presiding officer: all time has eired. under the previous order, the motion to proceed to the motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked to senate amendment 1347 is agreed to, the motion to reconsider is agreed to and the senate will vote on th motion to invoke cloture. the clerk ll report the motion to invoke clore. the clerk: we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the dorgan amendment number 1347 to s. 1023, the travel promotion act of 2009, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous csent, theandatory quorum call is waived. the question is: is it the sense of the senate that debate on amendment number 1347 offered by the senator from nevada, mr. reid, to s. 10, the travel promotion act of 2009, shall be ought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

the presiding officer: on this vote -- has anybody in the

chamber want to vote or change their vote? on this vote, united states are 80, the nays are 19. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. cloture having been invoked, the motion to recommit falls. mr. reid: mr. president? mr. esident? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. reid: could we have order. the presing ficer: can we please have order. order, please. the majority leader. mr. reid: thank you very much, mr. president. ou colleague, frank lawsuit berks has give -- franklautenbeo his country. frank's parents settled a immigrants in eastern europe. and if there were ever an example of people who have come from the most basic circumstances to a man nf weal

wealth, a man of stature, it's frank lautenberg. he has done it all. he fought bravely in world war ii, put himself through columbia university with the g.i bill of rights, after having earned that with his service to our country in world war ii. as i've mentioned, he h great success in business. he has a mind that is very incisive. he seeslways the big picture and was one of the first to succeed in a business that now a lot of peoe are succeedg in, but he was one of the first there. he, after having, in our great free enterprise system, done well, dided to turn to public service and he was elected by e state of new jersey to the united states senate. he left in 2000 but came back when his state asked him to serve once again. we needed frank lautenberg. he came back and he's served

with such remarkable stature since the. i -- when i first came to the senate, i had the good fortune to serve with him on the environment and public works mmittee. his love of the matters within the jisdiction of that committee are significant. he is -- he legislates with his hear but it's always backed up with his brilliant mind that he has. he was -- has been chairman of our budget committee. just weeks ago, he set the record for casting the most votes by any united states senatr in the historyf the state of new jersey. like any great legislator, senator lautenberg surely -- his record is best undetood not by the number of times he has said "aye" or "nay," but what those laws say about his commitment to the people of new jersey and all americans. he was a leader in establishin the discipline threshold for drunk driving, saving countless lives. his work as helped clean up to come toxicsites in communities e

state and countries, kept our drinking water safe and made our energy for mis. mr. president, for me peonally, what i will lookt frank lautenberg for having done is take care of one of my children. one of my boys was allergic to tobacco smoke and when we would fly across the country, they had those artificial barriers, you can't smoke past this line t. didn't matter, cigarette smoke went every place, and every one of those trips my boy, key, was miserable, made him sick. because. because of frank lawsuit berks millions of americans are protected from secondhand smoke. he wrote the law banning smoking on airplanes so, mr. president, in addition to being such a good friend, i commend and applaud the people of new jersey for sending this good man to the united states senate. he is someone who is deserving

of all the accolades that can be given to him. i'm very proud t have been able to work with him all these years. a senator: would the majity leader yield? mr. reid: i would be happy to. a senator: thank you, mr. leader. i appreciate you yielding. i just want to briefly say that we are incrediy proud in new jersey to have frank lautenberg as our united states senator. mr. menendez: it's not just the number of votes that he cast it's whate has stood up for. senator lautenberg has been known as standing u for new jersey first. but i think he's stood up for far more than new jersey. he has stood up for the nation. there are millions of people i think sin he passed the ban on smoking on airlines that -- and what he's done on superfund sites and what he has done on domestic violence abusers who no longer can possess a geun after they've been -- a gun after they've been convicted of domestic violence to use that gun on a loved one, who are alive today as a result of senator lautenberg's work, in

new jersey and across the nation. so the legislation that he has over his career in the united states senate is just exemplary, and i just wanted to join in this tribute because it's not the number of votes, it's the type of effect that he has had on the lives of people in new jersey and across the country. and we salute him. [appuse] mr. lautenberg: thank you. thank you, mr. president. if i might have recognition. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. lautenberg: i thank my friend and majority lear for his kind rarks and for the leadersh that he's provided for all of u. the -- i never dreamed that i woulde here this long. had 30 years in business before i got to this place. but harry reid menoned twice something about wealth. the wealth that i acquired by being here in this place, by beg able to say to my country

that i've had a chance to give back for the wonderful good fortune that has befallen our lives, my children,y parents, if they could see this, as been said, my mother w critical when i ran for the senate and she expressed a little disappointment. and i said, mom, how can that be? she said, because i thought you'd be running for president. [laughter] in any event, my dad wouldn't have believed it, but he would have encouraged it, nevertheless. and i thank all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle f the patience sometimes that i exhaust on my friends and particularly my friendnd colleague, bob menendez, with whom i've had the pleasure of serving while he was leader -- in ldership in the house but especially since he's been here and gotten the important responsibilities we have. so it's a good day. i'm gd to be back here to goat

with the people's business, and i thank all of you for your patience and fendship, particularly our majority leader. ani thank you all. thanks. [applause] the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid reid: i suggest the abe of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorumall:

mr. reid: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority lder. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objectn. mr. id: mr. president, i'm very greatl that we have moved forward on a very important bill for the country. that's the *8 travel promotion act that's the travel promotion act i mend and applaud senator dorgan for his good work on this legislation. it's extremely important. he was a real advocate, as he is on iues of which he sinks hi eth into. -- sinks his teeth into. travel and tourism generates a trillion dollars in our economy every year. whether it's the state of minnesota, nevada, pick any of the states, tourism is the number one, two or three most important driving economic factor in those states. and this year, tourism will create 40,000 new jobs. the bill will also cut our deficit by $425 million over the next ten yrs. significant. we would be taking the

strategies that have made las vegas such a success and bri them to our eire nation's tourism industry. th's what this bills based on. the country ace tourism has been hit by slowing worldwide economy. and when tourism is hurt, nevada hurts, the entire state suffers. hard-working people have lost their jobs as the state's budget has taken a major hit because that budget is largely funded by tourism. funding for violent programs in our state -- vit programs in our state are at risk when when tourism slows. as i mentioned, mr. president, the problem is not unie. tourism is one of the top industries in every state, and i've mentioned that. that's why this bill is so important. this is an opportunity not only to give american tourism a boost. its one of the many ways we're working to create jobs and help our economy to recover. note the absence of a quorum. thpresiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. mr. brown: mr. president?

the presiding offir: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: mr. president, over the last few months, i stood in this chamber and read letters sent to me by ohioans all over my state, stories explainin how health insurance costs are threatening the ecomic stability of middle-class families. these stories reflect the many challenges facing our nation's middle class and facin my state's workers. the fight for health insurance reform is part of a larr effort to put our nation on a new progreqsive path that invests in our labor force, that honors our industrial and manufacturing traditions, and that helps rebuild our middle class. yesterday, i joined president obama in cincinnati at the largest labor day picnic in the country to honor the achievement and the conibution of the american worker. labor day's an important american tradition that recognizeshe courage of generations of workersnd activists who demanded a standard of living deserving of

all americans. in ohio, the tradition of labor y began in 1891 when cleveland's first african-american lawyer, john patterson greene, in ohio's first african-american state senator introced labor day in ohio in 1890 to celebrate the contribution of workers. the bill passed the geral assembly on april 28, 1890, four years before congress declared labor day a national holiday. it's easy to surmise from this that labor day had its origins, labor day began in the state of ohio. as a father of labor day, labor day in ohio, john partisan greene, who -- john partisan green, who defendedioneers and sittingresidents alike, exemplifies how simple recognition can give powerful meaning to working men and women. yesterday in cincinnati during the anything's largest labor day picnic, president obama spoke to thousands of workers and their families gathered in support of

policies that put american workers and american businesses first. the president reminded us -- i quote -- "ch of what we take for granted, the 40-hour work ek, the minimum wage, health insurance, paid leave, pensions, social security, medicareall bear the union label. so even if you're not a union member, every american owns -- every american owe something to america's labor movement. at labor day events across the ste, workers and their famies, friends and neighbors gathered together regardless of profession, electricians and communation workers, steelworkers a teachers, truck drivers and laborers, to celebrate all working men and women. that's what labor day is. labor day celebrations brought together the family of union labor day celebrations brought together the family of union expwroars sister the labor movement is all about -- who gather to celebrate legacy and progress, to speak out for health care that works for worker. that's why this labor day is ever more meaninfful. i recently before laboray

visited open-m, a free health clinic in akron, where i met christine who represents a sma gift basket delivery system by herself but cannot afford health insurance. years ago while working, christine was seriously injured in a car accident, leaving her with multie knee surgeries, back and foot problems and a cane to help her walk. she had to pay all of these expenses out of pocket, draining her savings and compromising h economic security. last week, i spoke at the center r working-class studies at youngstown state, one of the nation's first and certainly the nation's premier academic program devoted to the many faces to deal with the american worker. the factory worker in youngstown, the home care worker in niles the truck driver in borgman. the center tells the story of working-class communies to a nation tt it helped build. ohioans from across the mahoney valley showed up to listen while

others showed up to tell the story of a working-class family struggling with the crushing costs of health care. john from champion, ohio, described how his sick nephew lacks health insurance and can't afford the neurologist he's supposed to see. john said if health reform doesn't pass soon, his nephew probably won't live long enough to receive the care that he so desperately needs. michelle from youngstown asked the question at the root of all the struggles have defined, the progressive labor movement. michelle, in her early 30's, is one of the nearly 50 miion americans who's uninsured. she asked: isn't health reform a moral issue, where people in need and deserve care should have access to it? the question of morality, whether coal miners' lives should be protected or food safety should be -- or food safety should be essential, or the right to fair wages should be absolute, has long defed the labor movement's proessive mission. the passing of senator kennedy, who sat jt two desks away, a

champion of the american worker, reminds all of us what government can and should do in behalf of american workers. the history of our nation shows that our workers helped transition our nationrom one industry to the next, driving innovation, creating economic prosperity for workers and communities and industries, eating the middle class. the history of our nation shows those who work hard and play by the rules have something to show for it: secure and good-paying job that supported family and gave meaning. today, the american worker is confronted with economic challenges that threaten to undermind our economic security. workers from lorain to wilmington,o zanesville deserve a government that does more and does better for them. today, president obama and many of us in congress are working to ensure workers be justly rewarded for their labor. as ohioans understand, manufacturing recognizes the valu of an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.

we know manufacturing is a ticket to the middle-class and we know a strong middle-class makes a stronger nation. that's why americans deserve a manufacturing policy that works for them. manufacturing accounts for more than 10% of our entire economy and nearly we three-frths of our natios industrial research. manufacturing jobs pay 20% more on average than service jobs. for every massi auto plant you see driving from east to west along the oo turnpe from youngstown past toledo there are dozens of manufacturrs who make component parts and services for emerging industries in clean energy and aerospace and biothnology. i applaud the administration's decision to tap ron bloom to dirct a national strategy to lp manufacturers transitioto the 21st century economy. it's not an easy task but one that requires hard work and progressive vision. but in no uncertain terms our nation must establish a national policy that once again invests

in our most important merican asset: the american worker. the economic subcommittee policy that i chair we have looked at the elements of a nional manufacturing strategy. investing in innovation, strengthening ouromnent part right way. after 18 months of being in prison, which was the toughest time in my life -- being away from my family, being away from my kids who i adore dearly, and being away from the game of football for doing something so foolish. and i wish i could take it all back because i did so many things that were wrong and was influenced by so many people when i should have been a leader and not a follower. that's what we got to do. we got to be leaders. we can't be a follower. >> well, not everyone a fan of michael vick's efforts today. 950 espn's brian seltzer tells us that a pennsylvania animal rescue group says it will run newspaper ads in select cities

eagles' visit this season, offering five bags of dog food to a shelter in that city every time michael vick is tackled. >> the ravens' d coming off a perfect preseason, but is it all a bed of roses for baltimore? a bed of roses for baltimore? we've got your blitz pre - ( music playing ) - a work of art. a finely-tuned machine. a sanctuary. a command center. ( both revving )

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>> the baltimore ravens select joe flacco. >> he's 6'6", a cannon for an arm. >> flacco to throw, going deep. >> he can make every throw. he can make every read. >> joe flacco laid out pass that was easier than a pillow to catch. >> this young kid is for real. >> touchdown joe flacco! >> i've never stepped on any kind of field athletically and not thought i was the best person out there. >> joe flacco! >> our blitz around the nfl continues with baltimore. the ravens went 11-5 and reached the a.f.c. title game a year ago. that was with a rookie g.b. under center. a major reason for their success was their defense, though, as the team was second only to the super bowl champion steelers in yards allowed per game. gone are defensive coordinator rex ryan and linebacker bart scott, to name a few, who are now both with the new york jets. our blitz preseason countdown

continuing today with a look at the ravens, a closer look now. and after a perfect preseason, whatever that means, the ravens open up their real season at home this sunday against the kansas city chiefs. let's face it, they have high expectations. and joining us now with a preview, we welcome in anita marks, sports talk show host of espn radio 105.7 "the fan" in baltimore. and anita, let's start with the guy that was a rookie a year ago, a sophomore now in joe flacko. he had that strong preseason, 40-61 passes. that's 65.6% if you got your calculator, 470 yards, one touchdown and all that on limited playing time some what kind of challenges does he face to avoid a sophomore slump? >> i think the biggest thing for joe, linda, is that he cannot try to live up to everyone else's expectations. i this -- think because of how well he did last season, we forget that he was a rookie who did incredible things, things that no other rookie quarterback in the nfl has ever done. so the expectation level is

absolutely tremendous for him. and i think he just needs to keep his eye on the prize, know what is expected from him from his coach, know what is expected from him from his other players surrounding him like derrick mason, who is another leader on this offense, and it was really key last year, keeping joe flacco on third and short situations. that's the commitment to the run. now you have ray rice having a tremendous off season, getting ready for this season, has competed with willis mcgahee to be the number-one running back. you have the three-headed monster in ray rice, willis mcgahee, now laron and there's talk lorenzo neal might get a phone call from the ravens. he might come back. commitment to the running game. keep joe flacco in a situation where it's third and one, third and, two third and three. this young man does not have to put the team on his shoulders in order to win games. and i think that's going to be an opportunity for him to avoid the sophomore slump and keep it simple for joe flacco, even

though he's only in his second year. >> and that's the offense. what about the team's defense, anita? that has always been tough, as you know, and this year it doesn't appear that they've really lost much of their edge, despite, as i mentioned earlier, losing rex ryan to the jets. now, is there a hole in this defense that let's just say the chiefs or another team could potentially exploit this season? >> there's a hole in every defense. there's no denying that. you look at the secondary, no samari rolle. who knows if he'll ever play another down in the nfl. chris mcallister is gone. foxworth, fabian washington, these guys will be the starting corners. jim leonard follows rex ryan to new york. dejuan landry, will he be able to mentally play after this spinal cord concussion? that's always difficult. and the big issue here, and you hit it right on the head, is this team losing rex ryan. he was that extension that ray lewis on the field, rex ryan, their connection. all eyes are on getting madison. he switched this defense. they're now running a

four-three. they're still going to come with the organized kay yachts, but i don't know what the hole is in this defense yet. i don't think anyone's really going to know until maybe week two or week three. but every defense has a hole. i know that ray lewis prides himself and prides this defense on stopping the run. i don't think they will lose anything in stopping the run this season. maybe it will be the d.d.s. who knows. but all eyes are on greg madison. it will be interesting to see if he can pick up where rex wryian left off. >> with joe flacco looking good, the ravens' defense holding tough, what's the biggest challenge this team faces this season? could it be the schedule? could it be the steelers? >> exactly. i was going to say two words for you, linda, the pittsburgh steelers no doubt. this has to be, in my opinion, one of the best rivalries in all of professional sports across the board. i mean, everybody tunes in to this battle, to this beat down, this heavyweight battle each time they face off against each other.

and steve ba shoty came out in the postseason press conference and said, look, the pittsburgh steelers is a team that everyone wants to mimic. everybody wants to see how they've been able to be so successful for so long, so, yeah, is their biggest challenge the pittsburgh steelers? absolutely. does this team believe they can beat them? yes, they do. i think really it's going to be interesting to see, this team has so much pride, and they always go into the season feeling that they're the underdogs. they're the hunters in the nfl. they're the team that doesn't get any respect. but i think because this offense has done well, joe flacco, this team is getting a lot more publicity. i think they still need to have that mentality that they're the hunters, that they're coming after you, and if some way, some shape, some form maybe the offense isn't able to step up like they did last year, they still have that mentality. so yes, it's the pittsburgh steelers. i think that's their biggest challenge, but they also need to keep their eye on the prize and know that they're the hunters this season, and, of course, ray

lewis, he leads that pack. >> great job, as always, anita marks of espn radio in baltimore. thanks for joining us. >> you got it, linda. take care. >> let's keep it going. now on espn.com, the three keys for the ravens in '09, will they open up the offense, will there be a clear-cut number-one back, and does the defense change without rex ryan running it? check it out. and tomorrow, the day before the opener, we will profile the defending champs. with no major roster changes, are the steelers once again the team to beat in the nfl. pittsburgh's day is tomorrow here on espnews. >> top stories on the way here on espnews, including how life at the top is easy for some and difficult for others. speak. speak. arf! that's it? ( ding )

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 sunday at washington pa washington fighting for their lives until zimmerman sticks off to the dish and hit this walk off homer. tonight is another night, as they'll try to derail the high- flying philadelphia phillies, leaders in the national league east. all of that coming up right here on masn.

it's the first of three here at nashle park. -- nationals park. great toy you with us tonight. we'll talk more about that dramatic walk-off home run from ryan zimmerman in the 9th inning sunday against the marlins, but first, this is the time of year, ray, in september, a lot of guys get called up, getting their first taste of major league, feeling of the clubhouse and major league atmosphere, and today was no exception. >> an exciting time for a lot of people. their first view of a big league ballpark. sometimes their first opportunity to be on a big league diamond. invited to spring training, but it's not the same. it's the start of their careers. the fun part of their careers, because there's no fun in minor leagues as you look at ian there who hit .330 down there in the minor leagues this year, but there is a guy that got

called up. >> yeah, the pitchers. they bring kensing up as well. they'll be joining the ball club today and are in uniform tonight. >> well, it's interesting, sec ovia was a reliever. played in double a and aaa, as well as estrada was a starter, 9-5. had a big year, as he was able to throw close to 140 innings, and punch out 90 guys. so you're looking at some good arms. will find out, maybe it's a dress audition, is what it is, to find out what these kids can do. spring training not quite as competitive as the back end of the season, so he'll be able to throw in there not only wriggleman, but stan kasten, the whole group. rizzo will be evaluating these guys and making a decision, and

at least putting a check by their name, or putting a question mark. >> i hope it will be a big check. >> i do, too. last sunday the nationals were battling for their lives, until the rbi sing until the 8th inning. >> that's right. bard got a pinch hit single, and then willie harris hitting a home run on a fastball. chris can guzman then hits one out, uggla can't make the play, hustling, and just beats the throw, and zimmerman gets a fastball down and in, deep into the left center field bleachers. his 5th walk off career home run, third against the marlins. >> and the nationals win it by a score of 5-4. the marlins take two out of three. 16 runs scored, 33 hits, an average of .306 for the nats

against florida. era a little higher than i'm sure mccaddy and wriggleman would like to have, and the opponents, the marlins, did hit .324. >> yeah, it's tough to score 5 and a half runs a game and lose two out of three. >> willie harris came to the dish in that inning and got a solo home run, his 8th of the year. he talked to the media about how pleased he was to be able to contribute and how the team hung in there and fought back. 6th of the year. >> just in there looking for a pitch to hit hard. i had a feeling they may have thought that i was going to take a couple of pitches, just because they were up two runs, like i normally do, but i was just ready to hit early, compliments of josh bard telling me to go up there and be ready to hit, so that's what i did, and i was fortunate enough to get a good part of the bat on the ball. >> and then guzman who has had

some trouble running, he legs out the single, and then ryan zimmerman finishes it in dramatic fashion. your thoughts on how it ended. >> first of all, guzman is a pro. and what can you say about "zim"? that didn't surprised me coming from that guy. that's what he has done before, and that's what we look for in him. great win, hopefully we have some momentum going if here tuesday against the phillies. >> don't you love willie harris's comments that zimmerman has done it before, he'll do it again, he's mr. reliable. when you look at the pitching performance of j.d. martin, he's all of a sudden becoming a guy that the nats can counsel on to give them six or seven strong innings. >> he's been able to go deep five games in a row, johnny, five innings, plus. he threw that ball. precision is the word that comes to mind. his slider was very good on the

corner. his curveball he threw for strikes, and just gave up six hits and two runs. a grit outing. >> and one of the reasons he had success against the fish, he kept the ball down. >> yeah, i did my best just to try to keep fuss the game. i knew we were going to score some runs today, and, you know, came through, then came through and won the ball game for us, it was awesome. >> what was the key to containing that explosive florida offense >> >> just keeping the ball down, really, and making pitches, being smart with it. and will called a good game for me. >> those numbers really starting to shine. the 30 innings. that's six innings per outing in to five starts. 16 strikeouts, 2:1 ratio. he he has allowed a home run

average per game, but opponent batting average .248. hisser ra is -- his era is down. he knows how to pitch. 87 mile an hour fastball mass, but he was throwing that thing 84, 85, but was also cutting it a little bit, very precise with it on the outside part of the plate, that looping curveball, and offset their timing dramatically. >> i'll tell you someone who is due for a win tonight, john lannan. the ace of this staff. has had some rough outings latestly. we'll talk about john when we come back and continue on nats xtra pregame here on masn. back in if a moment. ♪

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i think the off-season  training, the work with our strength coach, the work with steve caddy, it's paying off, and knock on wood, he'll get through the season unblemished in term ross injury, and go through the off-season and know that he can come back and give us that and more next year. >> and john lannan trying to get that 9th win of the year today. let's go down to deb by taylor behind us on this beautiful night for baseball. you had a chance to visit with a left-hander john lannan. debbie? >> i sure did, johnny, and he's looking for his first one since august 5th, and it will be challenging tonight, taking the mound against pedro martinez who has been one of the best in the game. here is more from john. >> i face toed him last year when the he was with the mets, but it just impresses me how these guys keep coming back. i watched him and smoltz and these guys pitch when i was younger, and they everyone so dominant then, they still pitch now, and they've been through a lot, have been released by teams, and to come back and really help out the teams they're with now is something cool to watch, but it will be

great to compete against them. >> sit inspiring, too, just to be able to take the mound against a guy like that? >> yeah, of course work but i'm not facing them, facing the phillies, hopefully get to them. we're in a little bit of of a slump all around, but this will be a good game. >> ryan howard, one of the best in the game. how do you contain him? what is your philosophy in facing him? >> stay out of they zone. i don't really have a problem with ryan, it's more utley that is my -- that i have problems with, but the thing that those lefties, and the guys i face. >> you mentioned chase utley, what do you have to do to keep him off base? >> just make my pitches, you know, mix it up, down and away, up and in, you know, just make sure i have control of the plate, and that's a big part of when i'm going well is that i know that i have the confidence to throw the ball where i want,

so that's going to be the big thing against him. >> john, it's been a rough last, you know, couple of weeks. what do you personally want to accomplish in these last couple of starts? >> just finish strong, you know. we've been struggling since nyjer went on the dl, but we're trying hard. personally, i just want to go out there and finish strong and build on this year, even though it was not what we expected, but definitely the future here is bright, so i just want to finish strong ask stay healthy. >> we know what nyjer has meant to this ball club on the field with his stolen bases, with his spectacular defense, his unbelievable speed. what has he been like in the clubhouse? >> he's still around. we played without him for a while, so just a little bit of a spark that we'll get back. so, you know, it's -- we miss

him, but we'll be all right. >> now, despite allowing three or fewer runs against philadelphia, john lannan, and that's in his last five starts against philadelphia, he has yet to beat the phillies, so he'll be looking for his first career winner against philadelphia tonight. now let's go back to you with more on john lannan. >> well, john tonight comes in at 8-10. 183 hits. you see the walks and strikeouts. opponents batting average, .275, but when you look at john's performance, he's never beaten philadelphia, he's 0-2 this year, 0-5 career, more losses to this club than any other club, and he's a much better pitcher. he ought to be able to beat him if he gets some good hitting support tonight. >> well, no doubt about that. he's a guy that doesn't get a lot of run support, never has in his last few years here, johnny, put the key is they

have so many good left-handed at bats, and his sinker goes down and in to left-handers, and his change-up fades that way, so he stunt seem colorado to have confidence in that pitch, because that's in the hot zone for the licensed hitters, is i think what he must do is establish his breaking ball early in this game, and be able to go to it, and hen when the throws the second one to it, i don't think you can get these left-handers out by throwing them sinkers and change-ups down and in, because that's an area they handle very well. >> interesting he told debbie taylor just moments ago, howard, he's not concerned about howard, he's more concerned about utley in this line-up. >> i don't the if that's -- howard can bang you any pitch. he's a guy that's just a home run waiting to happen. outly is going to hit his 25, but if that's the way he feels about it, be he feels like he can probably make a pitch to howard, and hasn't figured out how to throw pitches to utley, because no matter where they try to throw to him, he's been

sable to handle those pitches. >> well, pedro martinez tonight for the phillies. 18th year in the big leagues, 217 wins, 99 losses, and 5-3 career against this washington team. >> well, save had to manage against him, coach against him, saw him throwing 95 slider that nobody could touch. the most dominant pitcher in the game for 7 or 8 years. 116 games over .500. 13th all time on strikeout, and still averages over 10 strikeouts per nine innings pumped. the other night on the gun, i got to watch him pitch. he was still unat 90, and that's pretty significant for a guy who has gone through as many injuries as he has. >> i thought you were going to say you played against him. >> i may have. i don't think he's that old. >> but here is an example of a guy who has a wealth of experience, even though he's been around for 18 years, he can still get the job done. >> well, he's always had a great feel for pitching. the think he had was a 96 mile

an hour fastball, a slider, and a change-up. he still has that feel for pitching. doesn't have that overpowering velocity, but still has a very good curveball. he threw a pitch to score ea no we saw on the video there that just ran inside looked like about two feet. that's a pitch he invented, because i don't remember that pitch. almost a changion that runs inside like a sinker. >> i'm looking at your hair blowing in the wind, which reminds me it's time for the stay of the game hold of the day brought to go to you by just for men hair color. just as those nats relievers kept the nats in the game, you, too can stay in the the fame with just more men hair color. we will step out and come back and run through tonight's starting line-ups pep when we continue, the nationals inty first of three against the phillies. ray and i will be back here in a minute. others.

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 >> now let's take a look at starting line-ups.  

 time for the ho segment of our show. ben is joining us tonight. ben, a lot of guys called up, a lot of fellas getting a let's together of what it's like to be in the big leagues, and they're thrilled to be here. >> yeah, the big thing for them is now goling to be, okay, you're here, go going to get the experience, but how much can you really use to kind of prepare yourself for the future, and how much will the nationals be able to use to evaluate these guys. it sounds like, crown, you're not going to see desmond

starting at shortstop everyday, guzman will still get the majority of the starts there. a lot of these other guys will be in spots. and jim riggleman, as we've seen, is not a guy that goes deep into his bench. i mean, he has a few guys that he likes, and will typically use those guys over and over, and it will be up to these guys to impress the organization and n the little bit of time that we have to see them. >> did he just have too many innings? >> yeah, that was the deal. between being up here at the beginning of the year, and he innings he pitched at syracuse, just ran out of innings. we were talking to rizzo about that. they were happy with what they saw in him late in the year at syracuse, he was doing fine, this, put, yeah, he's 22 years old, they felt like he didn't really need to come back up here again and prove something, so they just shut him down. >> nice to see flores down there. he said he may be able to catch a game oar two before the year is over. >> yeah, he's taking batting practice, the catching thing is

coming a little slower, but he'll try as hard as he can to get back. >> okay, ben, thanks so much, buddy. always great to have you here with us. ray and i will take a break and come back. if you're asking how can we silence the philadelphia bats, maybe jim wriggle man will have the answer when we come back [ whistle blowing ] [ crowd noise in background ] [ music booming, crowd cheering ] [ music booming and crowd cheering continues ] [ crowd cheering ] ( ding )

 >> there are three guys in

nameys line-up nowablely absent. victorino -- ban yes and utley have had tremendous ball games against the club this year. >> they have, i think, the most deep line-up in the national league. again you go to looking at hitters that have speed, ability, hit for average, hit for power, you throw werth in there, and it just becomes a tough, difficult line-up to wade through. they swing at good pitches. they don't walk a lot. they're able to hit-and-run for extra bases. they run the bases extremely well. you go all the way down to feliz, they're 7 guys deep, and it puts so much stress on a pitcher to have to make a good pitchive at bat, and it's almost impossible. now, they haven't been swinging the bat extremely well over the last 10 days, and that's not good news, because they are a tremendous hitting ball club,

and the very difficult line-up to have to wade through. charlie man you sell doing tremendous job.  

 >> bob carpenter and rob  coming up next right here on masn.  i love beer. i drink beer daily on taste panel here at the brewery. this isn't like other beer companies. everyone in here knows how to brew. we're a company of beer geeks. you all have yourself a good weekend. (man) samuel adams employees from the head of the legal department to the newest sales rep that we hired learns how to brew beer. you need passion. you have to actually believe in what you're doing. that's why i'm here. i love beer. sam adams tastes great because happy employees make better beer. i love my job. at some restaurants when you get boneless wings... what are you really paying for? whoa! ha ha! i say "happy," you say "birthday!" happy... birthday! who's hungry? why pay for flair when you can get all the flavor for just $3.99 with wendy's new boneless wings. tender, juicy chicken, hand tossed in our signature buffalo or bbq sauce.

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and will for a very long time to come. pnc. leading the way.  . >> bob: the nats had lots straight, and it didn't look good on sunday. it doesn't get anyizier tonight hosting the nl east leading and defending world champion phillies.

>> bob: well, they tell us that when charlie manuel writes in the phillies lineup these day asks puts it on that card, they're just not hitting. we'll have to see that to believe it, the way they've handled the nats this year, 10- 2, and 5-8 here at nationals park. bob and rob. we'll see what kind of filing rob has about this one tonight. obviously you were right any sunday, and that was what you would call an improbable comeback and a very badly needed win. >> rob: a badly needed win, but a couple of guys that have been helping all year, willie harris was tremendous, nothing more clutch than leading off the bottom of the 9th inning with a home run to get you

going. guzman will beat out an infield single. this is a tough place for anybody. that sets the stage for this right here. don't throw this guy a fastball. you saw that, he broke it back in, and it came down and in on ryan, that's his sweet zone. >> bob: so the nats enjoyed their labor day a whole lot more because of what you just saw. pedro martinez make this start tonight. he's won all five, at least the phillies have one all five of his starts. and he's gone 3-0 with a good era. >> yeah, and they've won all five of his starts, and over the course of his career, he's won over 50%. in almost 3 to,000 innings, he's given up 700 less hits than innings pitched. i mean, this guy is the master, and he doesn't throw as hard as he used to, but he's going to change speeds. >> john lannan's record would be a whole lot better if it wasn't for the phillies.

0-5. 5.89 in certain starts. time to turn that around. @x@0

 . >> bob:  ette been overcast today, chance of showers, 72, very comfortable at the ballpark tonight. lannan just missing the outside corner. for john lannan this year, it will be his 29th start. he's the one pitcher who has taken the ball ever time it's been handed to him this year. rollins hammers one to center, willie harris with the first out. the rockies have passed the phillies in runs. they are number one in the

league in homers with 191. ryan howard is wearing out right-handed pitchers. maybe the lefty lannan can do a job on him tonight, but howard is hitting .344 over his last 21 games. and there is the old grinder charlie manuel. his team has lost four straight. they just got swept by houston. 19 over the .500 mark. six games up on the marlins. it appeared they were heading for a double digit lead until the last week or so, and a base hit by the always pesky victorino. doesn't matter that he was 11 for his last 69. >> rob: well, he's had a good batting average career off lannan. you have to get inside. you have to pitch inside tonight and have some fun. you know what? be the stopper, try to stop these guys, they are going to the may-offs, and measure yourself up against a playoff contending team would be nice

down the stretch for you. >> bob: chase utley takes one upstairs. 29 home runs this year. he's hit 11 of them against left-handed pitchers. 5th in the league with a .414 on pace percentage. he's in the top 9 in homers. i think he's a great case for your best hitter possibly the best overall player on your team batting in that third spot. >> rob: likes john lannan. got a limo for him today. >> bob: john lannan face the phillies for the third time this cry. these ball clubs haven't seen each other since the end of may. they played a lot the first two months. in fact, the last time the phillies were here, jamie.your develop his 250th game, and now

he's in the bullpen. a four-pitch walk in front of ryan howard.    . >> rob: if you're john lannan, you wants them to try the ball to the right side, especially center field and right. harris, dukes, a lot of speed, or he can go back on jam shots. a lot of speed to the right

side of the field. >> bob: ryan howard has been the phillies best offensive player lately hitting .344 the past month. that's a front door breaking ball, up and in for a strike. >> rob: he's been walking at least two guys in his last four or five starts. have to start throwing the bail over with authority and then get it out of the zone. you can't live up in the zone with those off-speed pitches, especially if guys like this get his arms extended. good. >> bob: ryan howard in his career, 30 home runs and 83 rbis against the nationals. and as we showed you earlier, when we set the lineups, not doing that much damage against

lefties this year. big breaking ball! strike two. >> see how that one looked out of the zone, out of that big circle of the hitting zone, and john nailed it perfectly. >> bob: do it again. >> rob: way ahead, just two more pitches at least that cue can throw down and away. you saw that go from the knees down to the feet, perfect level. sometimes i forget, and i get on to john, but he is only 24 years old. making his 66th career start. 29th of the season. he's still 24 years old, and one of the veteran pitchers on this team. >> bob: phillies are the best road team in the national league, with 41 wins. the yankees and the angels, the only two teams in baseball with

more wins away from their ballpark, 42. target outside corner. jason werth, lately, has been on a home run tear. but he has 8 homers in his last 25 games and only 12 rbis to go with it. he's been on all or nothing rbi type hitter. you're not going to get any sympathy here, phillies, for not scoring as many runs as you think you should. >> rob: nah. >> bob: and a breaking ball, hit to right. it will stay in the ballpark for elijah dukes on the track. victorino tags and goes to third, and obviously a big out for john lannan. >> rob: give you the pitch see questions here. big breaking ball for strike one, and then inside with a 90

mile an hour fastball, get him off the plate, throw the breaking ball away from him. excellent joyce choice. that was a little too much in the hitting zone. went upstairs to try to throw a fastball by him, breaking ball cent ier of the plate, and then you see wil saying i want that pitch down. he even went out to the found and said get that breaking ball down. almost left the ballpark. you have to be careful with big men like howard. that's a pretty good pitch. >> bob: john usually gets his evening off to a good start. good tail any that fastball. >> rob: got very good velocity tonight. stick with the fast bail as much as possible, and when you've flown it, throw it in on their hands. just to hit a few of these phillies, won't be any skin off our back. he's made three excellent

pitches so far to werth. >> bob: apparently a tight strike zone so far from the 13- year veteran umpire. and werth helps out. that ball was away, and the count is 2-2. this is one of those guys, and rob i know you talk about this all the time, he's not up there to do anything but hack. >> rob: yeah. >> bob: he's hit 31 homers and driven in 81. >> rob: no, he knows his role on the team. he's sandwiched if between ibanez and howard in the line- up. he's the power-hitting righty. >> bob: got the runner picked off first, and then john let's him go, because he was afraid victorino would go home, and i know what chase was going to do there. he was going to get into a run down and hope he could get shane victorino home from third. >> rob: he actually runs on the infield grass here and is in the way of adam dunn.

if you see him, goes right on the infield grass. and he takes the lane away from dunn. check him out. >> bob: why can't you call him out for leaving the pace line? -- the baseline? >> rob: i think as long as you make that baseline where you -- now, this is a veteran player right here. he knows dunn is coming in on the pick-off. i think he's out of the base path. >> bob: i mine, that is totally out of the base line. and the 2-2 is upstairs. i mean, that was a good three to four feet out of the base line. look at the distance between the grass and the line between those bags. left the base line. and wert will line one hard out of play. >> rob: but i totally think that was by design. i think, like you just said, how smart he is, he knew dunn was going to cut off that

distance in between, come to the inside part. he just came off the lane, so he would have got hit in the back with a throw. >> bob: i just wonder if he got hit with that three in ron culpa would have called him out. and werth into right field, dukes and a long top of the first inning is over. willie harris, guzman and zimmerman straight ahead. to ride in the bottom of the plane in the dark. no peanuts or nothin'. and then if your bag wants to bring one of its little bag friends for company, they charge another $30. that's just plain mean. why do they hate your bags? at southwest airlines, bags fly free. grab your bag. it's on! ( ding ) you know why i sell tools? tools are uncomplicated? nothing complicated about a pair of 10 inch hose clamp pliers. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated.

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 . >> bob:  here is pedro. of course he was an expo from '94 through '97, before moving on to boston. pedro making his 6th start as a philly. and it's been a good pick up for them. >> rob: though rule says in the base runner moves for than thee feet away from the base line to avoid a tag, the runners baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs in a straight line. so i just think that when he ran into the grass, since there's no throw, the judgment is that there's to base line established because of the play. >> bob: right. so my point, if adam dunn throws the ball and hits him, he's going to be called out by the umpire. >> rob: because i'm with you,

i always thought that if you're out of the base line, you're out. >> bob: willie harris. has he homered against? it's off the wall, and his last two swings and gone well over 700 feet in this ballpark on the heels of his lead-off homer in the 9th inning sunday. >> rob: on the replay here, you're going to see this pitch get way too much inside, and up, and pedro can't live up there. he doesn't throw 95 anymore. so this ball is just shellacked off the right field wall by willie harris. >> 25 of his 58 hits this year have gone for extra bases. and here is cristian guzman. guzman showed bunt, pulled the bunt back. he did have a quality at bat. in fact, two of them, ending

the game on sunday. he walked in the 7th inning for only the 14th time to all year, and then he laid out that infield hit up the middle on which dan uggla made a fine play, is that set up the game- winning homer for ryan zimmerman. pedro goes side door and misses, 1-1. they've seen each other before, battled in the american league some when guzman was a twin, and pedro pitched for the red sox. >> rob: you remember the famous play when reggie jackson in between first and second deliberately threw his hip into the ball, tommy lasorda went mental. i think it was the e77 world

series? tommy lasorda was going you can't do that. you can't throw yourself in front of the ball. >> bob: that's one of the things i admire about chase utley, he's always thinking, and if he had seen a throw go through to second base that didn't hit him, he would have retreated and gotten in a rundown hoping he could somehow get victorino in from third he. guzman goes to right center, that ball is deep enough, and willie harris scores easily! the nationals take the league on guzman's 47th rbi! something about philadelphia pitching really lights up guzman's bat. >> rob: well, you saw guzman

wait and wait and wait, and fred mcgriff, i'll say it again, said when a guy doesn't throw 90 anymore, you can look for breaking balls and still adjust to a fastball, because he can't throw it by you anymore, and that was it right there. fastball up and away, and he just shellacked it into right center field. >> bob: well, guzman's team against the phillies said do unto their staff as their hitters do unto ours. here is ryan zimmerman batting an even .300. he has taken the team read in rbis with 93. pedro's fastball in there be 89 , 89 hire. ryan, half of his homers since the all star break, and that's in less than two months.

high into the twilight that one goes. victorino takes a while to find it. it ends up not that far from chase utley for the first out. >> rob: is i think he wanted utley to catch that, and utley got away from it. the scouting report. first ining so far on his five starts, .364 batting having a against pedro. after the first inning, .209. so he give gives up a lot of first inning runs. to 2-0 on the road with a 5.73 road era. and over the course of his great career,3140 in strikeouts.    career record 217 and 99. he has won more than 50 starts. >> i think it's about time he

goes into triple digits in losses, don't you? >> rob: yeah, he needs number 100. >> bob: add an dunn's batting average is -- adam dunn's batting average is on the rise again. he was 1 for 4 on sunday. he's been on base crazy lately, and his on base percentage is back up to 4th in the league at .415. short lead by guzman. and a change-up has dunn falling. 0-2. 46 career complete games. 17 of those shutouts. three-time cy young award winner. 8-time all star. most recently in '06. and for his career, he's averaged 10 strikeouts per nine innings. >> rob: i -- there's no one that has more than a hundred

wins more than losses that is not in the hall of fame, so i truly believe he's in the hall of fail. plus i told you, he has about 2800 innings pumped, he's given up 2100 hits, roughly. so, i mean, that's where i tell you, for a starting pitcher to not have almost as many hits as innings pumped is phenomenal. to have 700 less, you're talking like nolan ryan stuff, randy johnson stuff. just amazing. and the change-up, and dunn is gone. the phillies are the the best defensive team in baseball. they have the few effort number of errors, 60,ty pirates have 61. the phillies are tied with their buddies from pennsylvania in fielding percentage at 988. and that's one thing that kept

the phillies in games early this year when their pitchers were struggling. they had offense, and they were catching the ball. and that's a breaking ball outside to willingham. i think one of the big reasons the phillies are so good defensively, charlie manuel has pretty much the same 8 guys out there every night. they don't mess with their line- up a whole lot. great continuity on this club. and pedro with that big breaking ball to josh willingham. >> rob: pedro is like livan hernandez, change-up and breaking ball, he still can equalize any hitter, but when he does make a mistake, he can't gets away with mistakes, just like livan can't. of course if you throw 95, 97, you can gets away with mistakes in the zone. >> bob: pedro has had two

short starts because of rain. three innings against arizona august 18th, and then 10 days later against the braves, only two innings. but he went 7, 6, and 5 in his other three games. 7 against the giants five days ago. >> rob: i wonder if anybody has ever gone back and looked at how many wins his teams have gotten in his 405 starts. >> bob: at least in the high 200s. >> rob: yeah, i was going to say at least 250, closer to 300. >> bob: you know, rob, i think maybe that's a number that, hey, the 300 game winners are gone with randy johnson making it, and you're going to view to judge these 220 and 230-game winners by something to make

them earn their way into the hall. and a fastball low and away to willingham. the count goes full. >> rob: i go back to burt on this, because he won close to 300, 247, 202 complete games. top 10 in strikeouts all time. no one is going to approach 200 career complete games ever again. just ridiculous. pedros that 46. i mine, you're talking 200 more than some of the highest rated pitchers today. >> bob: well continue, the table setters got it done. 1-0 nats. boss: so word's gettin' out that geico can help people save in even more ways -

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 . >> debbie: the nationals a on toppy a score of 1-0 as we move to the top of the second inning. john lannan looking for his first career winner against philadelphia. he has pitched significantly better here at nationals park this season. she is 5-1 with a 2.62era, versus 3-9 with a 5.7era on the road. no pitcher in the big league has larger differential between home and away era. last year it was the opposite.  

 . >> bob: and now here has another hit against the nats. he has been tough on the nats this year.  

 now the nats with the- play. >> rob: well, lannan gets a lot of ground balls when he pitches hard and inside like that. >> bob: that's a pitch count saver. and here is the catcher, ruiz batting 8th.

fastball. ruiz a very reliable catcher, hitting .252. there's another ground ball out, as orr takes care of business. it turns into a great inning for john lannan. the ainventory mentioned elijah cubes hitting .471 over the last few weeks. now that college is a few years behind me, it seems i've got three times the bills i used to. and they're getting in the way of things i'd like to do. with the money bar, i can move my money around instantly, so when there's more bills than usual, it's no problem. and i use the wish list to put any extra money aside for anything i want. being in control of my money feels good. introducing the virtual wallet from pnc, a high-definition, online view of your money.

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it's waaaay better than fast food. it's wendy's.  . >> bob: well, it's getting  dark a whole lot earlier now that we're in september. a lot of kids started school today. hats off to them for a great first day. bottom of the second coming up. and the nats have called up, they have expanded the roster four that syracuse is done. desmond, the young sport stop, although he's been in professional baseball for six years, logan kensing is back. and we saw marco estrada last year, zack has been called up. and there is tim foley. >> rob: foley was nonof my

coaches at milwaukee. excellent manager, exentú ( a úlatereaction ereúbyelduó./?%%-smond weari articu. duó./?%%-smond weari i loved what he said today when i asked him what kind of hitter are you in i thought he would say, a line drive hitter, you know, like to go to the gaps. looked at !me,as#'m## tough out. always - >> rob: ike that, too. >> bob: i know you like that answer. >> rob: oh, ablute. i would be scared if he said, well, i'm a got a 5:00 hitter. i was a good 5:00 hitter. i was terrible in the game. bnow why i was . more than half walks compared to strikeouts. or 62, and that's a significant number for him re running way ahead 2 to

1 on the walks. 2-2 from pedro. he steedoff onceand now dukes steps out. breakingll. waited for it, anawfully well, ibanez, who had to move a little bit to his right. it's a good at bat. one to to ten season, it will be upon -- 2010 season will be upon us where you know it, you can make your deposit for season tickets. pete orr had a base hit on sunday pinch hitting, so pete in nine games is 10 for 26. you have to love what this guy

has done since coming up from tim foleys syracuse chiefs. >> rob: well, he really is a grinder, he's a gamer, he's a tough guy that once you put him in the line-up, you don't have to worry about him, he'll be prepared to play the game. >> good running fastball, little bit low. 2-2. marlins and the mets are underway up in new york. broken bat, knocks it down, peter hustling, and -- pete orr hustling, and that's the second out of the inning. >> rob: pedro, like greg maddux, has great mechanics, and a wonderful fielder. right there, knocks the ball down, steps, throws, have yourself an out. >> bob: it all started with

the dodgers back in '92. he was known back then as ramon martinez's kid brother, and then when we got to montreal, everybody found out how good he was. in his four years in montreal, he won 11, 14, 13, and 17 games. one year had a 1.90era. >> rob: here is that wonderful change-up. 1-0 to a righty. don't recommend it, but he has one of the best change-ups of all time. >> bob: and another. wil is going to go for a little

stroll and think about it. >> rob: well, because he sells it like a fastball. he can still throw 88 miles an hour, but when you throw it 76, get that kind of back spin, it's like a screw ball. you'll see him speed it up to 91. >> bob: my most vivid memory of pedro, when he was really at his best, was when he got in a jam, he was one of those guys who had the ability to just reach back and use something that he hadn't used before and that game to get people out at the right time. >> rob: he only broke it out in case of emergency, and that's when he would break out his best change-up and his overpowering fastball. i agree. into that's a beautiful fastball there. >> rob: cheese at the knees. >> bob: the nationals lead it 1-0. on cristian guzman's rbi. at southwe st airlines, we love bags! we love duffel bags, golf bags, small bags. these bags right here-- they fly free! i wouldn't pay to fly in here.

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zimmerman, and time

>> rob: pedro is not really this is almost a freebie, if "zim" can make it cleanly, he does. tom of the order, jimmy rollins, flied to center the fastball. and another. the call. was low, and lets jerry know about it. has his batting

average up, if you will, in the after a horrendous start when he was below 200 the first first strikeout. he makes short work of rollins. fastballs. yeah. great fastball going tonight. change-up, and he is writing a new book tonight. bob: yeah, but that in your scouting report. shatter, and a to guzman. another really good inning by john lannan. at pnc's doing what most benefits our customers. whether that's building more certified green buildings than anyone on earth. creating online banking tools for the next generation. or making a 10 year, $100 million investment in kids.

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 . >> bob:  lannan get this ba the 0-2 pitch. >> rob: pedro gave him a chance. now i foresee a change-up in his future. gave him three fastballs, challenged him. no, goes another heater. >> bob: make him throw five or six pitches here. >> rob: i think ruiz wanted a change-up, and pedro said no i'm going to challenge the pitcher. i don't know why he's looking in our dugout. >> bob: well, evidently that ball didn't feel good on that pitch. he got a new one.

target on the outside corner. lannan keeps it fair down to feliz. high throw. ryan howard pulls it down. willie harris last two at bats have literally been long- distance calls. wise. >> rob: just missed another home run. >> bob: so willie harris this year has 58 base hits. 25 extra base hits. all about setting the table, that's what willie did leading

off the first. right in the side, and willie harris is on for the second time tonight. harris hit by a pitch for the 8th time this year. that's the second most on the club, to the 12 of josh willingham. next up, cristian guzman, who collected rbi number 47 his first time up with what you would call a a deep single to right center. didn't get victorino or werth a chance to get it, and scoring easily was willie harris.  

 probably be looking  multi-hit game against the phillies. he's had 47 of them overall. side door breaking ball off- speed for a strike. >> rob: we have a guy that does that. >> bob: batter and umpire were leaning right there. >> rob: well, this is a thing of beauty right here. pulling straight down on that with your two fingers together as hard as you can, same arm speed was a fastball, and the grip gives it that 70 miles an hour. >> bob: he drove another one.

easy fly ball to center. victorino for the second out. ryan zimmerman aagainst nunez, trying to close it out for florida sunday. >> rob: you saw the ball move back into the hitting zone, whether it's down and maintain right, or down and in on a lifty, not really where you want it. he is a dangerous fastball hitter, and if you throw him outside, he'll whack them to right center field. >> bob: he stunt >> i his shots often, but he knew he had that one, and he was 0 for 4 unto that point, the nats needed that swing very badly, because the phillies would be coming to town, and washington would have a nine- game losing streak, if not for that 9th inning. not to be forgotten, mike morse and his big two-out hit of the

8th. the big man waiting with two outs here in the third. we have three ever the top four strikeout hitters in the league in the ballpark tonight. mark reynolds is easily on a

pace for 200 strikeouts. she at 188 -- he is at 188 with about three and a half weeks lift in the season. front door breaking ball. >> rob: just throwing him a slider, too. so he has all four of hits pitches working tonight. >> bob: and he is a true four pitch pitcher, rob, there aren't many around anymore. >> rob: always has been, and when he is healthy, he will change arm angles as well as anybody that has ever played the game. can go beneath side arm, three quarters. he'll throw all four of his pitches from all four arm spots. >> bob: and a 2-2 to "zim".

well, this is another full count with two outs. >> rob: pedro is up to 50 now. >> >> bob: willie harris will have a head start. if he finds one of those gapers finds a chalk line, willie harris could make it 2-0. that's shot to left. it will be on a hop to the right fielder. harris will challenge ibanez, and he'll throw it into second, and ryan zimmerman gets the nationals runners at the corners. washington's third hit. >> rob: plant, spin the hip, bat head through the batting

zone quickly. pedro cannot throw it by you with regularity anymore, and hen he gets it up in the strike zone, very hittable. >> bob: here is adam dunn. >> rob: he's getting a healthy diet of change-ups, bob, and until he takes the change-up into left, i don't think pedro will change. >> bob: he would be crazy to throw him a fastball anywhere near the plate. >> rob: we've e we've seen it all year. they go hard in, fast and away from adam. although ruiz wanted it outside. pedro came in. i'm sure pedro in his mind is thinking i'm not letting this big dude get his arms extended on my 90. might end up on the red porch. >> bob: dunn pulls it, right

to ryan howard, who blocks it with that big body. the nats, a hit batter and a base hit. they have stranded three. into the middle innings, lead 1- 0. 

 . >> bob:  a lot of fastballs here, rob, he has really established that early. utley, one-hopper, pete orr positioned perfectly. >> rob: so the shift worked very well. >> bob: